The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Who is the most cited judge in this District?

Who is the most likely to come through with a comment similar to the end of this article?

A new study counted up the number of times the decisions of state high courts were followed in other states — in other words, how often one state’s decision played a direct role in shaping a decision elsewhere....

According to the study, published in December...the California Supreme Court won by a landslide.

In the 65 years ending in 2005, more than 24,000 state high court cases have been followed at least once. California leads with 1,260 decisions. Washington is next, with 942, and Colorado is third, with 848. New York comes in 10th and is only about half as influential as California, with 627 followed cases.

The Kentucky Supreme Court is the least influential high court in the nation, with 177 cases. The median was 453.

California also leads nationally if only cases followed three or more times are counted. The same goes for cases followed five or more times. In each category, California beats New York handily, by 160 to 39 for three or more followed cases and by 45 to 6 for five or more. The race has tightened a little, though, in the last 20 years.

...

Justices in other states did not embrace the study.

“Not to be too petty about it,” one wrote in a detailed critique when asked by a reporter, “but a report by the chief supervising attorney of the Supreme Court of California and the reporter of decisions of California that concludes — voilà! — that California is the most ‘followed’ jurisdiction in the nation is presumptively suspect.” The justice was granted anonymity to allow him to be petty.

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.